I've had to cancel [reject] a few requests that were on "wishlist hold" because I am also on another book swap site and an actual request for the same book came in while the PBS one was still on hold.  I felt bad about it but the reasons I got on the other site were that so few of my books are ever requested, and so few of my wishlist books ever show up.  What am I doing wrong?

I would recommend that you not do that too often as it will put your account at risk here....

It's easy to tell that a book is WL here so why are you posting WL books on both sites at the same time?  All you have to do is either put in the ISBN in the search and it'll tell you if it's WL here or not: or post the book here first and it'll automatically go on WL hold.  If it's on autorequest it'll show up on your shelf with a gray ! saying it's on 1hr Buyer's remorse hold.  There's really no excuse and it's very disappointing to the person whom you cancel on who was excited about getting that book. If it's on WL hold here then don't post it over there.  If you'd rather send them out on the other site then don't post them here. 

I do 2 booksites as well and I never post a book that's WL here on that site at the same time.  The only books I post on both sites are ones that are heavily posted on PBS.  You can see how many copies are posted by putting a book on your reminder list.  I've done both sites for 2 years and I've never had a book requested on both sites at the same time.  You just have to pay attention.

What am I doing wrong? - You are posting the same books to two different sites at the same time. Pick one and post it there. Don't cross post at all, or at least don't cross post anything that is already in a WL hold. 

I don't get it, how would I know that a book is on someone's wishlist when I post it?  None of those times did I get any sort of message or hint of any kind that someone was already looking for them.  If I had I certainly would not have posted them anywhere else.

I'm really not trying to disappoint anyone.  Like I said, few of my books are requested, and far fewer of my WL books are ever posted.

An easy way to see what's on someone else's WL is to add books to your To Be Read list.  Then, you can look down the list and see a big (either Red or Green) W next to the book.  That means it's on someone's WL.  No W next to the book means it's not on anyone's WL.  Plus, it's just a couple of clicks to post the book when you're done reading it.

Type the ISBN into the search box at the top of any screen here. This will take you to the book details page. If you see the line "Members Wishing:" followed by a number greater than 0, then the book is on somebody's wish list.

If you have already posted the book here, then look in two places:

1) On your My Account page on the Wish List Holds tab. Books on this tab are on 48 hour hold for people who have them wish listed but not on auto-request.

2) On your My Bookshelf page. Books that are on auto-request or that have been accepted during a 48 hour hold will have the gray exclamation mark at the right side of the listing instead of a checkbox. You will have a request for those books within an hour.

Before you post a book you plan on cross-posting, add the book to your reminder list.

The reminder list will tell you how many books are in the system. If it says "Copies available: 0" you should also add the book to your "Books I've Read" or "To be read" lists.

On your "BIR" and "TBR" lists, if the book in on someone's WL, there will be a capital W beside the book's info (kinda in the middle of the row, but closer to the right hand side.)

If the W is red, it is on a wish list. If it is green, it is on a WL on auto-request.

Looking at your bookshelf, I see that you have "Blinded by the right."  I added that book to my reminder list, and it indicates that there are 11 copoes in the system. Since you have only been a member for a month, I'm guessing that your copy isn't #1 in the system. So, this book is safe to cross-post.

A WL book will instantly show up as being on hold or in the 1hrs buyer's remorse when you post it so you just have to look.  Not complicated.  If you just type the ISBN into the search feature up at the top right of the PBS page it'll bring the book up and say if it's WL or not.  If it say 0 wishing and the only option is to post the book then it's not WL but it's not posted either and will probably be ordered quickly. 

The simplest thing is to not post the same books on both sites until you've taken the time to see where the book is wanted the most.

OK, now I see how to do it.  None of my books now are on anyone's wish list here or at the other site, so it won't happen again.  But to get back to my original question:  the reason I got on the other site in the first place was my pathetic "hit rate" in both directions, e.g., not too many people [at either site, actually] seem to want my books, and even fewer have books I want.  For example, only one of my 34 wishlist books has an estimated date it might become available to me, which is 668 weeks from now.  So I don't expect any suggestions for the second problem, but is there anything I could be doing to get more requests?

Find more books to post!  With only 21 books on your shelf and millions in the PBS system, it'll take some time for yours to move up to the top of First In, First Out line.  If you post more books, you can run a deal in the Book Bazaar like 2 for 1 credit.  That'll get people looking at your shelf and hopefully ordering from you.  You've gotta have more books to offer though so people have choices.

Well you haven't been a member for very long.  Those heavily posted books do get ordered but it can take some time.  I had 5 heavily posted books ordered from me last month.  2 were ordered when I posted a WL book and the requestor used the Add More Books Button.  1 was ordered the same day I posted it (my copy was #200+) because I talked about the book on the forums. The other 2 just worked their way up FIFO. 

Sometimes I take a few books from my TBR and add them to my reminder list. I'll post a couple to my shelf that have quite a few copies in the system already. I wouldn't do this with more than 1 or 2 books at a time so you don't get caught with a bunch of orders for books you haven't read yet.  I'm a quick reader so the couple times that I've gotten a BOB offer or a request.  But I figure they can start their way up FIFO while waiting for me to read them. 

Also: there are over 3million books posted to PBS. There aren't any in the system that you would like?  Have you tried looking up all the versions of your WL books?  Sometimes there's WL lines for books that are posted into the system under a different binding or ISBN.  It can't hurt to look them up under all books.  You might find an older version or a different binding that's posted into the system.

Well, I just posted a few more books.  As it turns out, one of them is on 252 WLs [with the same ISBN] but I have yet to get a request for it.  And there don't seem to be any other copies in the system. 

What's a BOB offer?

Re my WL, it's very rare that I would only be looking for a specific version of a book.  If I did that, I'd never get anything.  So I really don't care:  hardcover, paperback, or audiobook; older or newer edition; however I could get it I'd be happy.  BTW someone posted in one of the threads that that "3 million" number is not quite right, it's actually 3 million copies of about 518,000 unique titles.  Still a lot of books, but certainly not 3 million.

whoops, now I see that the one that was on 252 WLs is on that "1 hr. buyers remorse" hold. 

Write a review on some or all of your books. That can give them front page exposure. That's how I found a book I just received. The chances I would have found this treasure on my own are slim. It's not something I would normally go looking for. The Thirteenth Tale is just awesome. I'm so glad I saw the review on the font page.

Sometimes when you post a WL book it might go through a few people before being accepted.  You just have to be patient.  People have 2 days to accept a WL offer.  Sometimes you get dead accounts or people who are trying to find a credit. If it times out it goes to the next person.  Patience is a key with PBS. 

If binding isn't an issue then search some of your WL books and see if there's another version posted.  And still 500,000+ different titles: there isn't a single book that you want that's posted to PBS?

Yes, I searched all of my WL books for possibly different editions available -- no luck.  People who have the sort of books I'm looking for don't seem to be on PBS that much, or they're not posting those books.

I notice you have a lot of non-fiction posted to your WL - which tends too move slower than fiction.  Probably because there are fewer copies in the system and people are more likely to hold on to them (I know I do), an unless extremely popular, tend not to come out in lots of different editions. 

I do understand, as my tastes can run to the scholarly and obscure, but there are still LOTS of wonderful titles available.  I think I never got frustrated when I joined because my main objective was to get rid of books, rather than to collect more - it hasn't entirely turned out that way, to say the least.

A BOB offer is when you join Box of Books.  You trade books for books instead of credits.

I'm really tired of "Isn't there any other book you want?" being a reply to anyone who wonders about WL speed.

Maybe, but none that are worth it to find right now.

I have shelves and shelves of books to read. I don't need or want random books (and if I did, I'd get them somewhere cheaper than PBS).

One of the big reasons I like PBS is the WL--I don't have to go searching for books, they come to me. I know which ones I want that are worth a credit to me, and I let the system do it.

So, telling someone to be patient, that the fewer books they are looking for (and the more non-fiction) the slower it will be, that things will eventually e posted as long as they aren't all rare expensive books....all fine.  "Go find another book to request" is kinda rude.

There is hope, but you do need to be patient.  I was offered a book that I did not expect to be posted for many years.

I am wishing for some rare and possibly expensive books, but as my Dad says, "You have to be in it to win it."